In general, engine compartments of cars, motorcycles and similar machines are lubricated and cooled by using engine or motor oil. Typically, the engine or motor oil is cooled by circulating the engine oil through an oil cooler or heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is in communication with an engine block and oil filter and provides a circulating passageway for the engine oil. The heat exchanger is also in communication with the engine's coolant wherein the engine coolant circulates throughout the heat exchanger to cool the engine oil.
Due to the limited amount of spacing which typically exist in most engine compartments, especially the area surrounding the engine block, fluid hose lines directing the engine coolant to and from the heat exchanger must be connected to the heat exchanger in a manner that minimize s the amount of spacing required between the heat exchanger and the fluid hose lines. This can be difficult to accomplish when the engine coolant lines extend parallel to a substantially flat surface of the heat exchanger in which the fluid lines access the heat exchanger. This requires that the fluid lines be bent at a substantially right angle to communicate with an access provided in the flat surface of the heat exchanger. When bending the fluid hose lines, a certain amount of space or clearance must be provided for the bend or elbow so that the fluid hose line does not kink or fold thus prohibiting or restricting fluid from passing through the fluid hose line and communicating with the heat exchanger.
To minimize the clearance and spacing required of bending fluid hose lines, known designs have welded or brazed a rectangular steel block onto the end of a seamless welded tubing. A 90.degree. bore is machined through the steel block so as to provide a passageway extending from the steel tube, through the steel block, and into an inlet or access provided in a wall of the heat exchanger. The steel block is brazed to the wall of the heat exchanger to prohibit any leaking or dislodging of the steel block from the heat exchanger. This known design minimizes the clearance associated with bending fluid coupling lines, but the design is laborious and expensive to manufacture, which is undesireable in a production environment.